I was engrossed for most of the day. Solid writing, although not better than what you'll find in any run-of-the-mill book set in this period. The story starts to come apart at the end; the writing gets broader, less specific, and choices you have made are referenced incorrectly, not built on, etc. A warning: I bought this because I like ghost stories, but this is a Lovecraftian story. If you're not into Cthulu derivatives, maybe skip.
I love CoGs. I have all my current games sorted by genre on my second page of apps, and I purchase all my favorite games on steam so that they are doubly available to play.
Usually I restrain my interest to the brand, but this game has me wanting a fandom like all my favorite novels and television shows.
I don’t even know where to start. By far this has become one of my favorite COG. The dialogue fits in the time period and location; the characters can be fleshed out and the replay value is 10/10.
Character wise; many of them broke the main stereotypes of the time. As a history buff, the fact that the whole situation of the town was “strange” was what kept my annoyance to certain reactions down.
The first run through took me almost 6 hours total and each replay is at least two hours- because there is so much to discover in the text. It’s very beautiful. Each choice you make really does lead you to new dialogue and choices.
The different romantic routes were each in their own. I enjoyed them and won’t spoil it.
I only have two issues. The first is how the leading character finds themselves in the House. (Considering this story deals with the super natural this next comment sounds stupid but I have to say it) It’s just not realistic and feels forced. There is also a character we meet early on, learn a good amount about only to have them drop off after a chapter and never heard from again. Why waste my time with someone who doesn’t matter?
Highly recommend.
I'll be honest. I did not expect this to last more than an hour and a half and thought of it little more than a ghost story in the CoG lineup. I was pleasantly surprised to find it a well written Lovecraft-inspired (albeit with some minor typos or coding errors, mostly to do with Bastion/Sophia and their pronouns) work, worth the asking price. The chapters are of a decent length and have a good pace to them, even the labyrinth surprising me on my consecutive playthroughs with having more than one set of rooms. This is the first entry into the CoG catalogue that I wholeheartedly endorse and await dutifully for a sequel or successor.
Funny, decorous, romantic, and just plain eerie--in short, a strange delightful mix! The writing feels like it's coming into its own and is already quite strong. The author presents unique choices, including influencing strings of dream sequences which were quite fun. Choices matter everywhere from relationships to world-building flavor to life and death situations. Characterization gets better with every game this company releases and I hope they will continue to encourage this in their writers. :-)
I would have liked to see a bit stronger of a romance with Oriana at the end of the story, but it was terrific nonetheless. I would love to see a sequel!
Brilliant writing, though a bit forceful with the whole LGBT promotion. Great story, reminds me of Darkest Dungeon crossed with Supernatural. I would recommend a few changes for future releases. I would have liked a Telltale style graph showing what percentage of people chose which path in the story. The end of the story (at least the ending I received, SPOILERS) came rather abruptly, with finding a demon in Kent, exorcising it, then meeting back up with Sophia all happening in a few brief pages.
Oh this is such a fun game! And I loved every character they were all sweet and 3 dimensional. They really do make you want to save everyone, especially Loren, such a sweetheart. The story was great as well, by the end, I felt like I’d just starred in my own gothic romantic adventure. I got the friendship ending where I saved everyone but didn’t date and I feel like my heart grew three sizes, it was so heartwarming.
If I did have any feedback though, I would love the option to be of another race. Being non-white, it felt a little odd to be compared to Dev and Bastian as if I were white(such as the scene where you have to chose whether to go to town or send Dev, and it says something like “they might not take to well to him bc of his skin”. I remember bc I thought “😬 well they’d hate me then” lol).
Speaking of, I really appreciated the attention put into identities in this game, in race, sexuality, and gender identity (there was even a poly option???). It was put in seamlessly, but it still felt like they weren’t just cosmetic identities. I loved it. Games should really follow this game’s example when it comes to diversity.
This has to be the BEST Choice of Game story. Wonderful and memorable characters. An awesome story...keep me on my toes and made seriously consider my choices.
Wonderful, wonderful story.
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